A friend currently studying to complete her Ph.D research recently quizzed me about access to education among asylum seeking refugees in Bangkok. Her questions made me realize, I’d written little about what is and isn’t available to families who flee here hoping to get UN status and eventually resettlement to a third country.

Applying for refugee status from Thailand is a long process which can take two to three years or longer. In addition to not knowing how scathingly xenophobic laws and people in Thailand can be, those who flee here are also most likely unaware of the impact of their need to flee on their children’s access to education.

To explain, I’d like to share examples from a few of the families we’ve just begun helping and from others we have helped for two years or more. To simplify we’ll signify the families as A, B, & C.

Family A – This family has lived in Thailand for about 9 months. They fled to Thailand after their farm in the mountains was bulldozed and villages burned. They have all the proper paperwork which says their case is currently under review by the UNHCR, however this does not alone keep them from being harassed or indefinitely detained by the police.

The paperwork does not provide any basic provisions for living expenses and provides no substantial educational benefits for their four school age children.

Family B – This family fled their home country for the same reasons as Family A and have hidden in Bangkok for nearly three years while seeking unsuccessfully the help of UN agencies. After the family of 7 quickly burned through money they brought with them, the father found work as a day laborer where he could earn up to $6 a day. Three months after working odd jobs on farms and construction sites, the father was arrested and detained for working illegally and is currently STILL being detained two years later.

Three of the four school age children in the family were recently allowed study in a Thai government school after passing tests which evaluate their Thai language ability. The fourth and oldest of the school age children was turned away even after being eligible because she was too old to be put in the 1st grade with her siblings.

Family C – Here’s a family which has been in Thailand for three years. Their children haven’t been to school on a regular basis since they left their home country. Instead their children attend rudimentary classes for subjects like English which they already speak at home, and Thai which will not prepare them for life in a third country or even offer any preparation if they are returned to their home country.

Because their refugee application has been rejected, they have begun appealing the UNHCR’s decision but have been given no estimate on how long the appeal process takes. Meanwhile, as their status hangs in the balance, so does their children’s access to even the most rudimentary of classes which they can rightfully attend only once a week and are not funded by the UN.

If this paints a dismal picture of what will become of these children’s ‘lost years’ then it’s accurate. While there are exceptions where refugee children have been excepted on scholarships to international schools, these are rare instances where schools have taken interest in children based on test scores, fine tuned to reveal a ‘likeliness to succeed’ —which is more indicative of their previous exposure to education than their need or aptitude to learn.

What will become of these children’s lost days, months, and years spent outside of classrooms?

How many books, teachers, and precious minds will be held hostage by politics, legalities, and prejudice?

Jessy says:

May I ask… I am ministering to a family of asylum seekers. The problem is that I myself have very limited resources since I'm a student. The family does not receive any support from UN or the church (the waiting list is simply too long). Of course, God provides everything. (Hallelujah!) I am looking for a place for them to learn some skills like crafting and stuff. Do you have any idea?

Thank me? Thank you! I love that you've already found and committed to a family that's not getting help from anywhere else. It's not easy, so I recommend introducing them to friends and coworkers and inviting them to join you pooling money every month. This is a simple and straightforward way to get them help every month and usually people are happy to be part of a giving group.

As far as getting the family involved with some crafts or skills, I don't know of many groups doing things with asylum seekers. Again, I'm a lot like you. I looked around and saw what was being offered and thought, well hey I can offer something. Prioritize their basic needs then google and network around to see if you can find some activity they can do from home.

Jessy says:

Anna Rae says:

Hey Dwight,
Don't know if you remember me– I lived in Bangkok two years ago and volunteered with in Search of Sanuk several times.

This year I'm doing an AmeriCorps position in a community just south of Seattle. I'm working in the most diverse middle school in the country and I'm getting a second glimpse at how dramatically children's academic lives are disrupted by forced migration. Many of the students I'm working with one-on-one are Burmese refugees (they think it's hilarious that I used to live in S.E. Asia. These students arrive in the states after years of interrupted education– or no education at all. Try and teach a 13 year old algebra when they can't multiply– or even add properly. It's disheartening to see how far behind these students are and how inadequately the school district is prepared to help them catch up. Students are placed in an ELL class that helps with English language acquisition, but learning the language is not enough, their education is filled with enormous holes. Really, I'm just one of a couple of people who are free to pull aside a student for a few hours a day to help them individually. At this point it feels like it is too little too late, though I'm hoping that by the end of the year I'll feel as though we've made some gains.

It's painful for me to hear about the roadblocks Thailand is putting up to these children's educations. Obviously, I had a strong feeling as though something like this was happening, but still, hurts to hear it outright. It's so unfair for these children to be punished simply because of their immigration status.

Thanks for commenting Anna. Yes, I remember you joining some of our Saturday outings. Really interested to your perspective from the post-resettlement side. It's clear that these children aren't being put in positions where they can thrive—anywhere. Also, I didn't get into it much because I mostly work with asylum seekers, but the educational opportunities for those with refugee status is also pretty poor.

Really pleased you're still following and your comment means a lot, thanks and hope to meet again Anna.